


If Not For You Meddling Kids

by Barb Cummings (Rahirah)



Series: The Barbverse [18]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Carnivals, F/M, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22515079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rahirah/pseuds/Barb%20Cummings
Summary: Date night!
Relationships: Spike/Buffy Summers
Series: The Barbverse [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/514
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	If Not For You Meddling Kids

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place in the same universe as _A Raising in the Sun_ et al. Written for the 2013 Scavenger Hunt at Livejournal's sb_fag_ends. Prompt: Death Stalks the Big Top.

"And the little lady wins again."

The barker, a sallow young man with a regrettable mustache, sounded a lot less enthusiastic about it than he had a dozen giant stuffed pandas ago. He lifted a fuzzy purple lion almost as big as she was off its hook and passed it across the counter to Buffy. Buffy accepted her prize with a winsome smile and handed it off to Spike, who tossed it onto the rainbow pile accumulating behind them. She gazed up at the decimated ranks of stuffed animals festooning the booth's ceiling and pointed at a lime-green gibbon with a menacing leer. "And now I think I want... that one." She thrust a handful of tickets at the barker. "Five throws, right?"

The barker pulled a sour face, and for a minute she thought he was going to refuse. But the crowd of carnival-goers her performance had attracted whooped and hooted, and with visible reluctance he handed her a wicker basket full of baseballs. Buffy hefted one, tossing it from hand to hand - she'd realized with her first throw that the balls were weighted funny, and by her third, she'd figured out how to compensate for it.

She drew back an arm, and sent the ball rocketing towards the target. It hit smack in the center, adding another dent to the already impressive collection. Bells rang and lights flashed, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Buffy's smile grew absolutely beatific. "That one," she repeated, pointing to the green gibbon.

Which immediately sprang to life and leaped for freedom over the top of her head.

The barker took advantage of the distraction to dash for the back of the booth, and Buffy hurdled the counter and tackled him to the popcorn-littered ground. Spike leaped with freaky vampire speed and caught the fleeing creature in mid-air. It screamed and struggled in his grasp until he vamped out and bared his fangs, at which point it went limp with a startled "Eeeep!"

Buffy jammed a knee into the small of the fugitive's back. "Geez, that's funny. Usually people are grateful when I slay their demons."

"Usually," Spike drawled, giving the green gibbon a shake, "people aren't using a Gwira demon to pick the marks' pockets while they're getting skint at his rigged ball pitch." He held up a wallet retrieved from the Gwira's pouch. "Betting your playmate there's not Edna Birnbaum of 5731 Greentree Road."

The crowd noises began to segue into ominous murmurs. "You can't prove a thing!" the barker whined. "Bixby's just an animal. He doesn't know any better. He just swipes stuff. Like a magpie or something." The Gwira's eyes narrowed at that, but it kept mum. Its partner in crime went on, "I was gonna return it! Come on, there's got to be something I can do to make it up - "

"Well..." Buffy cocked her head and considered. "There might be one thing..."

"Anything! Just let me up!"

"Return anything Bixby swiped. No more funny business. And we get ten more throws. Free."

An anguished wail. "What? You've already cleaned me half out!"

"Well, yeah," Buffy removed her knee and waved at Spike. "But he hasn't had a turn yet!"

**End**


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